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I hesitated "You sure it’ll be all right? Shein on a special occasion like that"

"It’s fine I’ll tell her you’re coive you directions"

I rooted throughfor a pen and my notebook and jotted down the details "I’ll be there about six," I said

"Great" He slammed the car door and moved off

I watched him hobble as far as his car and then I headed for home

I live in as once a single-car garage, converted now to a two-hundred-dollar-a-month studio apart room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, closet, and laundry room All of my possessions are erator, sink, and stovette, a doll-sized stacking washer/ dryer unit, a sofa that becoh I seldom bother to unfold it), and a desk that I so-roo quarters seem to have shrunk, year by year, to this miniature state For a while, I lived in a trailer, but that began to feel too opulent I’ money for space I don’t use It’s possible that one day I’ll reducethat I can toss in the backseat ofrent As it is, my wants are few I don’t have pets or houseplants I do have friends, but I don’t entertain If I have any hobbies at all, they consist of cleaningup on evidential docuhs, but I do pay my bills, keep a little money tucked away, and provide myself with medical insurance to cover the hazards of h I try not to boast overht months, I run into a man who astounds me sexually, but between escapades, I’ deal After two unsuccessfulwith my underpants

My apartment is located on a modest palm-lined street a block from the beach and it’s owned by a man named Henry Pitts, who lives in the hty-one years old, a retired baker who supple out breads and pastries that he trades with local oods and services He caters tea parties for the little old ladies in the neighborhood, and in his spare tiure out He’s a very handso-white hair that looks as soft as baby fuzz, a thin aristocratic face His eyes are a violet-blue, the color of ground ence He’s caring, compassionate, and sweet It shouldn’t have surprised me, therefore, to find hi ot home

I had parkedaround to the back, where my entrance is located My apartment faces the rear and looks out onto a picturesque little bit of scenery Henry has a patch of grass back there, a weeping , rosebushes, tarf citrus trees, and a s out of his own back door with a serving tray when he caught sight of ood Come on over here There’s solance followed his and I saoe chairs She must have been in her sixties, plump, with a crown of dyed brown curls Her face was as lined as soft leather and she used makeup skillfully It was her eyes that bothered e, and, just for a moment, poisonous

Henry set the tray down on a round metal table between the chairs "This is Lila Sams," he said, then nodded at me "My tenant, Kinsey Millhone Lila’s justa room from Mrs Lowenstein down the street"

She held out a hand with a clatter of red plastic bracelets, le to her feet

I crossed the patio "Don’t get up," I said "Welco sociably Her return s aif I’d misinterpreted "What part of the country are you fro slyly at Henry "I wasn’t sure how long I’d stay, but Henry makes it seeht green-and-yellow georound Her breasts looked like two five-pound flour sacks froht was carried in her chest and waist, her hefty hips and thighs tapering to a decent set of calves and quite dainty feet She wore red canvas wedgies and fat red plastic button earrings As with a painting, I found an I wanted tothe tray Henry held out to her